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Biography

Anssi 8000 and Maria Stereo live and make music in Sahalahti, Finland which is a small town, even by Finnish standards. Maybe the rural environment has something to do with the timeless qualities in theirmusic. You don't bother with the current hipster trends when you live in the woods.The duo writes basically primitively simple and short rock tunes, but their sense of melody and dynamics are classic. There are only two members in the band, but they pull it off by singing, playing guitar, drums, organs and percussions simultaneously.Compared to the contemporary power rock sound, Anssi and Maria are a breath of fresh air. They sound like actual human beings making music together. Their brand of rock'n'roll sounds natural.

THE MUSIC of ANSSI 8000: Kyklops vs. Svesse (also 2CD on Bone Voyage Recording Company), when Anssi 8000 was Anssi Kasitonni and still a super-sound one-man-band

Sahalahti is the place where the artist named Anssi 8000 lives and breathes rock and other art forms like only a true modern child of nature can. Armed with a distinctive voice, a 3-string guitar and two drums, this one man orchestra makes a hell of a racket. A hell of a racket that resembles rock'n'roll greats from Elvis to The Misfits and Nirvana, but sounds completely original and different because Anssi 8000's style of performing the songs is a style of a true original. Strange tempo changes and fierce dynamics are a natural part of Anssi's raw rock. Melodies collide with harsh guitar crunch and thumping kick drum in a beautiful way. The ape-like fury of banging the crap out the instruments meets with good ol' melodic song writing.

Anssi 8000's one man band shows are already the stuff of legends in the Finnish underground scene. Strange abstract stories about old guys from Sahalahti village are a vital part at an Anssi 8000 gig. The odd storytelling combined with the raw attack of simultaneous playing of drums and guitar makes Anssi's live shows stand out as a very different gig experience. Blues storytelling meets artsy performance in a very down to earth rock'n'roll kind of way. Go figure how he pulls it off, but he does.

But as you read this Finland's world best one-man band is history already. Now performing and recording as Anssi 8000 & Maria Stereo it has turned into Finland's world best married rock'n'punk couple, starring Maria Stereo (t.a.f.k.a. Hot Coke). She already put some cream on top of those songs on Kyklops vs. Svesse (vocals, keyboards, maracas, cowbells and other things) and on the new album boosts to new horizons with strong and heartfelt songs and vocals.

In Finland Anssi 8000 (aka Anssi Kasitonni) is also a rather well known visual artist and a filmmaker. His short films that combine animation and live action have melted the hearts of audiences and critics alike. These other artworks by Anssi 8000 share the sincere excitement and the extraordinary combination of playfulness and serious thinking with his music.

THE ART of Anssi KasitonniExceptionally ingenious works

Anssi Kasitonni, like several other Finnish male artists in or around their thirties whom I know, obviously grew up in the 1980s. Finnish family unity, playing in the woods, tinkering with mopeds, the safe yet restrictive atmosphere of small village communities - all these things appear in their work. But at least as powerful a mark on their minds was left by the American mass entertainment that they consumed in their youth from television, records and video cassettes, electronic games, comics and the silver screen. Whatever cultural history may claim, when you are 12, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, KnightRider and break-dance movies seem utterly more important works of art than tomes such as The Seven Brothers or the Kalevala. The great cultural heritage of Finland is something they have only entered as grown-ups. For a boy growing up in a small village, the action comedies of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, the space games on the Commodore 64, ninjas and skateboarding seem considerably more awesome stuff. For someone who has grown up in such a cultural milieu, Chuck Norris can still kick out the daylights of VÃ¤inÃ¤mÃ¶inen. All this is apparent also in Anssi Kasitonni's art.

What is it that makes Kasitonni different from all other artists I know whose work harkens back to the same early memories? For instance, there are several kindred spirits to Kasitonni in the group of artists called Kultainen Timantti (The Golden Diamond), whose members seem to draw strength from each other's work in their joint exhibitions. The whole becomes more than the sum of its parts. In these exhibitionsÂ´Kasitonni's sculptures, paintings and films are part of a wider review of the mindscape of a certain generation of Finns. What sets Kasitonni apart is that, unlike the others, he does not need a larger context to rise above the 'good.' Kasitonni's art is exceptionally touching.